BRZ/FR-S Strut Tower Brace - Any Interest?

[Turdinator]

Originally Posted by KelvinBRZ

Thinking about buying one - after more than a year since release, has anyone ran into issues that I should be aware of?

Any updated reviews / impressions would be awesome

I have had mine on for about 6 months now and love it. It makes a noticable difference to the feel of the car. The only downside i have heard is that it won't fit with the Crawford BPBs.

[boredom.is.me]

Originally Posted by Turdinator

I have had mine on for about 6 months now and love it. It makes a noticable difference to the feel of the car. The only downside i have heard is that it won't fit with the Crawford BPBs.

That's a downside of the BPB, not the GS STB.

[KelvinBRZ]

Installed the GS bar today. Here's my background and review:

I started working 40 miles away from where I live half a year ago, so my BRZ has become my 80 mile trip DD. LA freeways are notorious for running on elevated bridges, which have uneven pavement and rough patches of mis-leveled road. Also, I tend to be a little more "spirited" than usual when making left and right turns at intersections that would typically have a passenger utter an uneasy "woaaaaah..." as I turn right or left without slowing down as much.

That being said, it seems like once I installed the GS bar, the difference was initially subtle, but after the end of my 80 mile trip from work, the benefits are obvious. For one, the steering wheel as become a tiny bit more "heavy" and travel has been reduced when maneuvering the car.

The second most obvious benefit is turning corners. The car seems more planted in the front while turning - enabling me to turn at slightly faster speeds (let's say I exit out of a "u-turn" off ramp at 35mph, and at 38mph the wheels begin to chirp. At 40 MPH with the GS bar, I was still able to get through the offramp with the same settings on the nannies (nannies off) without having the wheel chirp. Although there are many factors that could tie into this situation; going through this offramp on the daily has provided me with past experiences of pavement conditions (hot, cold, wet, etc.)

The third benefit is that small bumps and unevenness in the road seem to be slightly absorbed somewhere by the chassis. There's a section on the 605 Freeway in Los Angeles that feels as if you're riding a horse (the up and down motion) in the BRZ. With the GS bar on, it feels as if the horse got a luxury upgrade. Still a horse, but with more padding almost.

[wired]

Just ordered one of these today, hoping to improve the up/down jerkiness I get on crappy CA roads

Kinda nervous about not damaging the nuts.

Anybody have any Scion dealership experience with this thing installed? Is it something I should remove before getting the car serviced?

[GrimmSpeed]

Originally Posted by wired

Just ordered one of these today, hoping to improve the up/down jerkiness I get on crappy CA roads

Kinda nervous about not damaging the nuts.

Anybody have any Scion dealership experience with this thing installed? Is it something I should remove before getting the car serviced?

Awesome! I'll let others chime in regarding dealership experiences, but as far as the nuts/studs go, if you follow the torque spec, you'll be just fine.

Looking forward to seeing how you like the improvement, so be sure to post back up once you've got some miles on it!

Matt Beenen
Engineering

[Jonsey]

Originally Posted by wired

Just ordered one of these today, hoping to improve the up/down jerkiness I get on crappy CA roads

Kinda nervous about not damaging the nuts.

Anybody have any Scion dealership experience with this thing installed? Is it something I should remove before getting the car serviced?

There are certain items I would consider removing before going to the dealership, a strut bar is not one of them.

[Dino451]

Originally Posted by wired

Just ordered one of these today, hoping to improve the up/down jerkiness I get on crappy CA roads

Kinda nervous about not damaging the nuts.

Anybody have any Scion dealership experience with this thing installed? Is it something I should remove before getting the car serviced?

Nope no issues. Been through at least two services and left the car at the dealer for a few days for a wheel bearing issue. They never said a peep about the bar.